The first cross-strait exhibition of tricolor glazed pottery from the Tang dynasty (618-907) kicked off Nov. 24 at the National Museum of History in Taipei City, in celebration of the facility’s 60th anniversary.
Featuring 120 signature artworks from the NMH and Luoyang Museum in Henan province, mainland China, the two-month event features largely brown, green and white-glazed items comprising animal and human figurines, everyday utensils and burial objects.
“These vividly designed pieces showcase the museum’s efforts to foster a vibrant multicultural scene,” NMH Director Chang Yui-tan said. “The event also underscores the government’s commitment to preserving traditional arts in conjunction with our counterparts on the other side of the strait.”
Unearthed in Henan in the 1920s during the construction of the Longhai Railway connecting Lianyungang in Jiangsu province with Lanzhou in Gansu province, many of the artifacts with unique and significant form, decoration, glaze and style offer showgoers a glimpse of everyday life during the heyday of the Tang dynasty, according to Chang.
A documentary premiering Nov. 26 at the museum will also be showing during the event. The short film records the NMH’s development over the decades, including various conversions of the building and previous exhibitions. It also serves as an introduction to its current collections.
Established at the Nanhai Academy—a cluster of educational and cultural facilities in Taipei—in 1955, the NMH was the first national museum created after the ROC government’s relocation to Taiwan in 1949. Boasting 50,000-plus pieces, much of its first batch of artifacts was obtained from the Henan Museum, while many other items were recovered in the years since the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).
Culture Minister Hung Meng-chi said the NMH witnessed and stores the collective memories of artists and citizens. “We believe the celebration activities of the museum are certain to enhance the public’s aesthetic awareness, boost cross-strait art exchanges and retain the museum’s cultural relevance for future generations.”
In addition, a large-scale renovation of the museum as a part of the Great Nanhai Cultural Park development scheme was approved by the Cabinet in July this year, in hopes of transforming the facility into one of the city’s top cultural hotspots.
